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The London Plane, one of chef Matt Dillon's new ventures, is at the corner of South Main and Occidental in Pioneer Square (building on left). At the other end of Occidental, Dillon has The Little London Plane and Bar Sajor.

Kevin Daniels, one of the project’s developers, said that it that will have 496 apartments ready for rent by June 1 and eventually will include 250 condos and a 274-room Hilton Embassy Suites Hotel.

Stadium Place apartment building Nolo will house Quality Athletics, a sports bar planned by Skillet’s Henderson, and a second location for Cone and Steiner, a specialty food market that opened in December on Capitol Hill and includes Henderson among its owners.

Other residential projects are planned, including a seven-story apartment building by Goodman Real Estate at the site of Argens Safe and Lock Co. on South Main, and a proposed 16-story, 165-unit building by Mack Urban on Western Avenue.

CJ Smeraldo, whose family owns Il Terrazzo Carmine and who lives in the neighborhood, sees other positive developments, such as the influx of tech and design businesses and the discovery of Pioneer Square by a new generation of potential customers — the thousands of fans who flock through the neighborhood on their way to Seahawks and Sounders games.

“There’s definitely a bit of a cultural renaissance going on,” Smeraldo said. “I’ve seen (Pioneer Square) transformed. There’s a much more bustling working class that shows up at lunch and after work. I see lingering lunchers and people enjoying these places that are opening up. They’re finding there’s more here than what they thought. It’s not just a place for bums and rug galleries.”

Ilze Jones is a preservationist and co-founder of the architecture firm Jones & Jones, which designed Occidental Park in the early 1970s, describing it then as “the future core of a revitalized Skid Road.” She pushed for the planting of London plane trees throughout the historic district, including those that line the brick-paved block now anchored by Dillon’s restaurants.

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